Extension and conveyor connection of the existing logistics center on the site of the pharmaceutical company Roche to a 15 m (49 ft) high high-bay warehouse divided into two climate zones.
The installation of the floor conveyor technology took place in the existing building and was extremely challenging, as the low ceiling height and the narrow column grid required various height adjustments and some changes of direction in the material flow.
Normal temperature warehouse: two 60 m long aisles for 8,849 pallet spaces, two MASTer 12-T storage and retrieval machines (SRMs) with PowerShuttle. Cold storage: one 30 m long aisle for 3,622 pallet spaces, one MASTer 12-T stacker crane. Stöcklin equipped the entire system with the optimum conveyor and storage technology as well as Stoecklin logOS WMS.
The Roche Group has received a sustainable, space-saving and energy-saving system solution and is thus equipped to meet the growing demand for products in the field of personalized medicine.
The installation of the floor conveyor technology took place during ongoing production operations in the existing building and was extremely challenging. Strict specifications with regard to energy, hygiene and safety requirements and in accordance with the "Good Distribution Practice" (GDP) regulations had to be taken into account.
The aim was to expand the eight-storey logistics property by adding a fully automated high-bay warehouse (HBW) around 15 m high with around 12,450 pallet spaces vertically and across the entire length of the building. Raw materials as well as packaging materials and finished goods with different physical and chemical properties were to be stored here and assembled for inbound and outbound. In order to make the best possible use of the limited space available, the facility is designed as a channel storage system, which requires a comparatively small amount of space.
The installed channel storage system was divided into two areas by a fire protection/climate control partition wall. In the 20°C zone, around 8,850 pallet spaces are available in two 60 m long aisles, which are supplied and removed by two 14 m high storage and retrieval machines (SRMs) with PowerShuttle. In the refrigerated warehouse, where a constant temperature of 5 °C prevails, a stacker crane designed for 29 double cycles, also from Stoecklin's MASTer 12-T series, is in operation. Temperature-sensitive materials and preparations are temporarily stored on around 3,600 pallet spaces. The aisle length is 30 m.
The new high-bay warehouse complex is accessed via two automatic pallet elevators with an installation height of 26 m from the first floor. In addition, connected conveyor technology lines were installed on the sixth and seventh floors as a first step.
Incoming and outgoing goods are located on the first floor of the new overall system. Load units to be received are manually transferred from wooden to plastic carriers, loads are checked, secured with film by a fully automatic wrapper if necessary and transferred to the conveyor system at floor level using hand pallet trucks. Pallets are conveyed to the seventh floor (HRL) via a pallet elevator.
Order picking is located on the sixth floor. Stoecklin has equipped this area with ergonomic features that make the work of warehouse employees easier. These include, for example, lifting platforms and height-adjustable handling surfaces as well as an optimized arrangement of screens, keyboards and printers.
The material flow is controlled by Stoecklin logOS WMS, which was connected to the existing warehouse management system. The WMS also includes 2D visualization based on WinCC.
"With the new channel storage system, Stoecklin has implemented a space-saving and energy-saving system solution, with the help of which we can respond adequately to the growing demand for our products in the field of personalized medicine and secure further growth."
